 |
Introduction to Hands-On Dance Project Research Papers
|
The Hands-On Dance Project Web site is the practical research element
of a PhD study by Sita Popat in dance, interactivity
and creativity.
Aims for this Research
The main aim of the research is to investigate the relationship between
interactivity and creativity in interactive dance-making via the World
Wide Web. This is based upon the hypothesis that it is possible to
involve Web users as participants in the dance-making process via interactive
methods, regardless of the participants' previous dance knowledge, and
that a resulting product can be of a standard which the dance community
will accept as professional dance art. This hypothesis will be tested
using theoretical and empirical research.
Context
The World Wide Web is increasingly pervasive, as an entertainment medium,
an advertising forum, a learning platform and a general knowledge provider.
Gradually the arts are employing it as a medium for presentation, taking
advantage of new facilities designed for the Web. Interactivity is
one of the features which is prevalent on arts sites, and a few sites exist
where the visitor can become a participant in the creative process.
Interactivity allows the participant to collaborate in the creation of
the art work by taking part in tasks provided on the Web site and submitting
the results to the artist/designer.
A small number of dance Web sites exist where the Web site visitor can
be involved in the dance-making process via interactive methods.
This study evaluates a selection of these sites to support the view that
audience involvement is minimal and lacking in significance. The
participant tends to be kept distant from the creation of the dance product,
with tasks consisting of text-based submissions as movement stimuli, for
example. This prevents the influence of individual submissions from
being apparent in the dance, as illustrated by the Webbed
Feat's Bytes of Bryant Park project. The Progressive
2 project does allow the participant to manipulate the dancer, but
does not allow for the completion of the creative process in a final product.
The M@ggie's Love Bytes
project is currently the only one where the participant can view the creative
process from beginning to end, which gives a sense of the creative experience.
However, the design of this project does not involve the participant directly
in the dance-making, and the informality negates the possibility for serious
discourse about the dance.1
These dance projects are limited in their success as interactive dance-making
Web sites, although the M@ggie's Love Bytes model has potential for expansion
which will be utilized in the practical element of this research.
The Hands-On Project Web Site
The empirical research will take place on the Hands-On
Dance Project Web site, which has been created specifically for this
study.2 The site is intended to host three interactive dance-making projects
between September 1999 and June 2000. Hypotheses for interactive
involvement of the participant in the dance-making process will be tested
through the construction, trial and evaluation of these projects.
Data concerning knowledge and experience of dance and other arts will be
gathered from all participants through brief questions on the submission
form. Selected participants will be asked to complete more detailed
questionnaires regarding their experiences of the project, and some will
also be interviewed. The process will be recorded in the studio using
video and the choreographer's diary, for analysis of the difficulties encountered
in leading the interactive dance-making process. Some of the dance
products will be presented to dance audiences, and audience members will
be interviewed to provide data on their perception of the products.
A fourth project is intended to take place on the Web site in Autumn
2000. This will be the culmination of the empirical research, and
will represent a model for advancement in the use of interactive methods
in the dance-making process via the Web. Analysis of this will inform
the conclusions of Sita Popat's PhD.
Outcomes
The outcome of this research will be a theoretical basis for using interactive
methods in the dance-making process on the Web, supported by evidence from
practical implementation. In achieving this, the study will also
have ramifications for the current 'live' choreographic models.
Notes
1 Analyses of the creative potential of these Web sites
are presented in detail in Chapter 2 on the Research
page.
Return to Hands-On Dance Project - Research